LEE McCULLOCH reckons Rangers are under more pressure now than they have been since the pre-administration days at Ibrox.

Ally McCoist's side were booed off the park as they crashed to an embarrassing defeat to Hibernian on Monday night that leaves them six points adrift in the Championship title race.

After claiming the Third Division and League One crowns with ease in the last two seasons, fans have begun to ask serious questions of McCoist and his players this term.

And captain McCulloch knows the heat is on the Ibrox squad as they bid for a place back in the Premiership.

He said: "Since administration I would say this is the most like it's been in the past here.

"The expectation and pressures are getting to that previous level, it's still not at that height but it's getting close to what it used to be like.

"There is loads of pressure on you, loads of expectation on you and you've got to be able to handle it. There's no need worrying about it, I think it gives you an edge to your game."

Defeat to Hibs this week was the lowest point of the campaign so far for Rangers as they failed to close the gap to Hearts at the top of the table.

The Jambos have also left Ibrox with three points already this season and McCulloch knows they can't afford many more slip ups.

He said: "I think it's too early to be concerned about dropping points to the likes of Hearts and Hibs at home but if we drop anymore points it will be a big concern.

"We need to put a run of games together and start winning games, that's paramount.

"I think at the start of the season we said the most important thing was to win the league.

"We knew it wasn't going to be as easy as the last few years, we've normally had a gap between us and the rest at this time in the past two seasons.

"We're more than capable of going and winning this league, it's up to the boys when they go and cross that white line to go and prove people wrong."

Boss McCoist blasted his sloppy defence as they handed Hibs the win on Monday night with a shocking display.

But even some harsh words at the break wasn't enough to inspire them to a remarkable comeback.

"We came in at half time and everybody in the dressing room had a few truths to be told," McCulloch told rangers.co.uk

"Then second half we came out and scored a goal. The second half was much better to be honest and it would have been interesting to see what had happened if we'd got a second, I think it would have been a very different game."